Neidbau

German edit

FWOTD – 8 January 2015

Etymology edit

Neid (“envy”) +‎ Bau (“building”). Spelled neydpau, the term was used in the laws of Munich as early as 1489; it was used in the laws of Hamburg as early as 1603.

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): [ˈnaɪ̯tbaʊ̯]
Hyphenation: Neid‧bau

Noun edit

Neidbau m (strong, genitive Neidbaues or Neidbaus, plural Neidbauten or Neidbaue)

spite house; a structure built primarily to harass or harm a neighbour (which is therefore generally illegal to construct)
- 1489, Das Stadtrecht von München:
  Item neydpau, die ainem schaden prächten, sollen verpoten sein, und sollen die pauleut dieselben neydpau abzuerkennen und darynne nach gelegenheit der Sachen allwegen zu entschaiden macht haben.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension edit

Declension of Neidbau [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Neidbau	die	Neidbauten, Neidbaue
genitive	eines	des	Neidbaues, Neidbaus	der	Neidbauten, Neidbaue
dative	einem	dem	Neidbau, Neidbaue¹	den	Neidbauten, Neidbauen
accusative	einen	den	Neidbau	die	Neidbauten, Neidbaue

¹Now rare, see notes.